Astonishing Legends

In the late summer of 1901, two women journeyed to the renowned Palace of Versailles, a few miles west of Paris. This breathtaking royal home, once the epitome of the French Monarchy during the reigns of Louis XIV, XV, and XVI, was an unfamiliar territory to them. Yet, the palace grounds seemed eager to impart a history lesson they had not anticipated. While exploring the vast estate, Charlotte Anne Moberly and Eleanor Jourdain found themselves amidst various characters adorned in peculiar attire. They noticed buildings, structures, and anachronistic farm tools from a past era. It was as if they had inadvertently stepped through a portal into a bygone era. The highlight of their uncanny experience may have been an encounter with a spectral figure of what may have been Queen Marie Antoinette herself. The bewildering events of that summer day left Moberly and Jourdain perplexed. Over time, they gradually pieced together the puzzle of their extraordinary visit. Years were devoted to delving into Versailles' rich

Enjoy episode number 21 of the Patreon-exclusive Astonishing Junk Drawer! 

Would you look at that? It’s already the end of 2023, and our second favorite annual holiday is upon us. We’re now into our 4th annual tradition of the Astonishing Legends All-Star Holiday Special, and it indeed has taken on a life of its own. This year, we’re welcoming back all of our guests from last year and being joined by a few new ones as well. This show was recorded and broadcast live on video to our Patrons at Patreon.com/astonishinglegends a few weeks ago and in fact, if you are a patron you can still access the uncensored and unedited version of it there. You’ll hear the audio from that presentation, slightly edited for length and propriety tonight. To the extent that’s possible, anyway. The Holiday Special topics are wide-ranging and generally unplanned; this year is no exception. We touched on everything from the ubiquitous UAP phenomenon to podcast production to some of our various guests’ favorite topics of the past year. Allison Jornlin talks about going on Shark Tank with her brother, and Mica

In Part 2 of our examination of the strange and tragic case concerning the mysterious death of Zigmund Adamski, we dive into the coal pile of odd clues and loose ends discovered by Police Constable Alan Godfrey and debate the facts from a detective’s perspective.  Was Adamski’s fate a result of extraterrestrial meddling or an unintentional homicide by blundering inlaws?  Was the death somehow connected to Godfrey’s following encounter or a case of “post hoc, ergo propter hoc” thinking?  We’ll analyze each incident in greater detail individually and look for causal connections, emphasizing Godfrey’s experience and aftermath.  We then continue with Philip Mantle’s expert insights on the circumstances and learn about the cases vexing his storied career and personal experiences.  As we attempt to reach conclusions about one of the most bizarre series of events in paranormal lore, there’s no doubt that stories like these fuel the imaginations and quest for truth for those who entertain the extraordinary. Visit ou

Zigmund Adamski, a Polish immigrant miner, left his house in Tingley, England, heading to the corner shop to buy some potatoes.  He would go missing for five days and turn up dead on a pile of coal over 25 miles away to the west in the village of Todmorden on June 11, 1980.  Police Constable Alan Godfrey was called to investigate and found puzzling clues at the scene.  No signs of foul play were detected on the body, with the only wounds being burn marks on the top of the head and a weeping wound at the base of the neck where it appeared a green salve had been applied.  Adamski’s dress shirt was missing, but in its place was a mesh undershirt he wasn’t wearing when he left.  Not only did he appear awkwardly redressed, but he seemed to have been given a crude haircut and a recent shave.  There were no signs of any disturbance in the coal pile from Adamski having crawled up it nor anyone having dragged him atop it in broad daylight at an active workplace.  Yet the most baffling clue may be that the coroner and

On July 3, 1975, the Ministry of Justice in Japan responded to an inquiry by Amelia Earhart researcher and investigator Major Joe Gervais. Gervais had sent a letter to the Department of Immigration and Naturalization in Tokyo, operating on the hunch that Earhart had been taken prisoner and held on Saipan during WWII but under an assumed identity. The Ministry of Justice responded, saying the woman in their custody was known to them as Irene Craigmile. This was not a name mentioned by Gervais to the Japanese authorities. So, who is Irene Craigmile? Craigmile and Earhart were acquaintances and pilots who looked similar, but photos show they are two separate people. This begs the question for the “Japanese Capture” theory of Earhart’s disappearance: who then went down with the plane that was apparently ditched near Buka Island in Papua New Guinea? Were these two women connected via some secret mission, and is the plane at Buka a version of Earhart’s Electra 10-E? These questions and evidence are just a few of th

Adam Livingston moved his family from Pennsylvania to a parcel of farmland near a village then known as Smithfield, West Virginia, sometime in the 1770s. The village’s name would evolve over the years to the more pragmatic name of Middleway. However, colloquially, it would also acquire the moniker of “Clip” or “Cliptown” for the bizarre events that would transpire there. A few years before 1790, the once-thriving Livingston family would begin to endure supernatural harassment so extreme that they were beleaguered and exhausted, leaving their neighbors and visitors bewildered. According to one popular account, a mysterious Irish stranger appeared at Livingston’s door seeking shelter one dark and stormy night. Livingston provided hospitality to the weary traveler until the stranger summoned his host when fearing his death was near, begging that he send for a priest to deliver last rites. While Livingston was generous in his accommodation, being a Lutheran and having a disdain for Catholic priests, he refused to

The Mogollon Rim in northcentral Arizona is a geological landform that spans around 200 miles east to west, demarking the southern boundary of the Colorado Plateau in the state.  This topographical feature is classified as an escarpment where wide and steeply sloping cliffs and rock masses delineate the high pine-covered plateau on the northern side, which receives cold winter temperatures and light snow from the desert-like conditions below to the south.  This transitional nature provides a habitat for significantly varying types of plants and animals.  Perhaps because of Mogollon Rim’s liminal nature, this variance is claimed by many to also extend to creatures and phenomena that dwell beyond our understanding.  Accounts and legends of UFOs, supernatural occurrences, and even its own brand of a hominin-like beast known as the “Mogollon Monster” are familiar to the territory.  The supernatural element became all too real for our guest, Jay, who endured a terrifying encounter while working as a wildlife biolo

Join hosts Ed Voccola (Rick and Morty, Bless The Harts) and Chris Cullari (Blumhouse, The Aviary) for a wild trip through the world of what scares them.  In this episode, the boys discuss razor blade apples, the Man Who Killed Halloween, and the history of "Halloween Sadism." 

Enjoy episode number 5 of the Patreon-exclusive Astonishing Junk Drawer! 

We hope your sleep has recovered after last week's round of creepy and unsettling accounts. Now, we aim to disquiet your peace with another three! Our first story comes from Megan, whose family has a history of experiencing items showing up in unexpected places. But when a letter is delivered to a vulnerable location, we wonder if it came from someone still Mad, Bad, and Dangerous to Note. Our next guest, Chad, has stories showing that growing up in Ohio can be Weird on Both Ends, with High Strangeness in the Middle. In the final narrative, Rachal, a Hospice social worker, had a patient whose reconnection with a Life Leech proved to be an exhausting experience. Join us if you dare for Part 2 of Your True Halloween Stories II, and rest easy if your life is pleasantly unremarkable.  Visit our website for a lot more information on this episode.

Join hosts Ed Voccola (Rick and Morty, Bless The Harts) and Chris Cullari (Blumhouse, The Aviary) for a wild trip through the world of what scares them. In this first episode, the boys discuss shadow people, TikTok challenges, and the nightmarish being who ties them together: The Hat Man. Visit our show notes for a lot more information on this episode.

Introducing Scared All The Time, the newest show on the Astonishing Legends Network.

Well well, dear friends, Spooky Season is upon us once again, so it's time to regale and chill you with true Halloween tales from within our ranks!  Our first story, which we're calling "She is Ours," comes from Andy, whose recurring nightmare leads to a standoff with higher powers.  Later, a study of palmistry plunges her into a shared vision with a stranger.  The following frightening account comes from Maryann, who gets an unwelcome response when you "Speak of the Devil."  And finally, Persephone endures a harrowing encounter that may be a puzzle piece to a lifelong mystery that seemed to come from "No Place at All."  Light the candles, prepare the beverages, and settle in for an evening of eerie testimony from some Legenders.  May all your dreams be pleasant tonight! Visit our website for a lot more information on this episode.

Enjoy episode number 5 of the Patreon-exclusive Astonishing Junk Drawer! 

We took a survey a while back, and sweatpants were far and away the number one most requested new merch item, so here’s our first batch with a glow-in-the-dark Astonishing Al on the hip! They are available for pre-order as of right now! We will start printing them over the next few weeks for them to get to you by Halloween with any luck!

We need your scariest stories! Send them in! Like…now!

For whatever reason, 1952, the year of Truman Bethurum's encounters with saucer Captain Aura Rhanes and her crew, was a watershed year for UFO interactions and the Contactee movement.  The period is mainly known for marking an era of peaceable and friendly exchanges with aliens, deAL266: Bethurum Part 2 – UFOs and the Occult spite the predictable fears of the "other" depicted in 1950s Science Fiction and fueled by Cold War tensions.  Sometimes colloquially referred to as "Space Brothers" (which could include Bethurum's "Space Sister" Rhanes) or occasionally an alien race of "Nordics," these benevolent otherworldly visitors often urged humans to live in harmony, to care for our planet, and warned us of the dangers of the atomic age.  The overall message is they were here to protect us from ourselves.  But as welcoming and comforting as that sounds, there is a much-overlooked aspect of some of the personalities involved in this generation of heralds – a fair number of them had ties to occult beliefs and practic

On Sunday night, July 27, 1952, Cement Batch Plant Operator Truman Bethurum took a little snooze during his break while working the swing shift on an Asphalt Mixing Plant project near Mormon Mesa, Nevada.  He awoke to hear unintelligible murmuring from eight to ten small-sized men who had surrounded his truck.  Initially startled by the diminutive beings who all seemed to be wearing uniforms, what would really make Truman's heart pound with excitement was that they appeared to be the crew of an enormous flying saucer that had landed just a few yards away.  He described the ship as about 300 feet in diameter and six yards deep at its center, with something akin to a burnished stainless steel finish.  Bethurum went aboard to meet the female captain of the ship and was able to ask her questions, to which he often received cryptic yet intriguing answers.  One visitation like this would be enough to question one's reality and sanity, but Bethurum was able to meet and converse with these interplanetary visitors on

In the second part of our series on the mysterious visitor to Van Meter, Iowa, it’s time to wonder how so many credible people could see a creature so incredible and what that creature could be.  An extant pterosaur, your run-of-the-mill cryptid, a Keel-like “uttraterrestrial,” something like a tulpa or an egregore, or simply a transdimensional interloper from the sacred and mystical bowels of the earth?  Does a hoax that a whole town would have to be in on even make sense?  Could the gestalt be a little from all of these things?  We may never know precisely what the Van Meter Monster was, but we can learn how something clinically described as an unusual sensory experience affects the people who see it.  Something else we can bet on is that, like it or not, we must share our reality with the surreal, and as rare as it is, people will continue to see the impossible. Visit our website for a lot more information on this episode.